Stringybark Ridge and Zig Zag Creek loop from Thornleigh Station

A really nice loop walk in a corner of Berowra Valley Regional Park with good access by public transport. The walk starts and finishes at Thornleigh train station. The scenery includes beautiful scenes along Zig Zag creek and nice forest while going up Stringybark ridge, plus as an optional side trip to see the remnants of the historic Thornleigh Quarry and Zig Zag railway. There are good spots to eat or grab a coffee near Thornleigh station before or after the walk.

(0km) Thornleigh Train Station → Morgan Rd

990 m

18 mins

7m

-47m

Easy track

From the western (north bound) side of Thornleigh Station[1], this walk follows the ‘Jungo Rest Area’ sign[2] along the footpath towards the car park and The Esplanade[3]. The walk then heads down a short distance further to turn left and cross ‘The Esplanade’ at the traffic lights[4], then continue straight along the footpath down along Eddy Rd[5]. Following a couple of GNW arrows[6] down Eddy Rd as it then bends left[7], turning into Tilock St, and shortly later this walk then turns right into Morgan St[8]. Continuing down till just before the end of this street[9][10], this walk comes to an intersection marked with a GNW arrow[11] and the ‘Elouera Bushland Natural Park’ sign[12] (on the right).

(0.99km) Morgan Rd → Int of Bike Trail and Morgan Rd tracks

230 m

4 mins

3m

-7m

Moderate track

Turn right: From the end of Morgan Street, the walk follows the GNW arrow[13] and the ‘Elouera Bushland Natural Park’ sign[14] between houses[15] no. 28 and 26. Once behind the houses at a small clearing[16], the track turns left and follows down the rocky side of Zig Zag Creek[17]. Soon after passing behind the third house, the track comes to an intersection with a wide concrete trail[18], where a sign points back along the track to ‘Sydney Cove’[19].

. The walk continues down into the valley[23] along the concrete trail for another 110m to come to a signposted intersection marked with a ‘Great North Walk’ sign[24][25] (on your left), just before ‘Zig Zag Creek’[26] and the long bridge[27].

(1.34km) Zig Zag Creek Bridge int → Thornleigh Quarry

160 m

4 mins

15m

-8m

Moderate track

Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk heads gently downhill to then cross ‘Zig Zag Creek’[28] on the 40m long bridge[29] (with handrails) to find the ‘Zig Zag Siding’ information sign[30][31] on the far side. The bridge path now merges back to the main wide trail[32] and heads steeply uphill[33] for about 50m

(with a handrail on the left side[34]). The trail then mostly flattens out for about 50m and leads gently up to the front of the old ‘Thornleigh Quarry’[35], marked with a plaque on a large stone[36][37][38]

. At the end of this side trip, retrace your steps back to the main walk then Turn sharp right.

Old Thornleigh Quarry

The old Thornleigh Quarry[39] is located beside the Heritage Trail in Thornleigh, within Berowra Valley Regional Park. The quarry dates back to 1883 and was initially a source of ‘ballast’ for portions of the Sydney (Homebush) to Newcastle (Waratah) rail link. There is a firm, flat dirt track[40] that leads about 40m from the concrete trail to the centre of the old quarry[41]. You will find a series of log seats in this amphitheatre

making this a pleasant spot to sit and enjoy the intriguing mix of nature and history. A book is available with some detail on this quarry and the associated zigzag railway: ‘Sydney’s Forgotten Quarry Railways’ by John Oakes, ISBN 0 9757870 3 9

Thornleigh zigzag railway

The Thornleigh zigzag railway originally ran from the main rail line near Thornleigh to a historic quarry, near present day De Saxe Cl, Thornleigh. There are only minor fragments still visible today. The ‘Heritage Trail’ in Thornleigh has interpretive signs for the railway and the old Thornleigh Quarry. A book is available with some detail on railway and associated quarry: ‘Sydney’s Forgotten Quarry Railways’ by John Oakes, ISBN 0 9757870 3 9

(1.34km) Zig Zag Creek Bridge intersection → The Jungo

1.4 km

25 mins

16m

-37m

Moderate track

Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Great North Walk’ sign[42] along the narrower track, keeping the gully to your right. The pleasant track leads into, then through, the ferny forest[43] with tall trees for about 700m, before crossing a side creek on a timber bridge[44]. The track then continues in a similar manner for another 700m, coming to a large clearing and campsite[45], The Jungo. On the far side of this clearing is a well-signposted intersection with a ‘Bellamy Street’ sign[46] pointing back through the campsite.

The Jungo

The Jungo is a relatively small clearing and campsite near the junction of Berowra and ZigZag Creeks at a well signposted intersection[47]. There is often water in the creeks (treat well before drinking) but there are no facilities[48]. Speculation on the source of the name ‘Jungo’ includes the Aussie tendency to abbreviate words (‘Junction’ gets corrupted to ‘jung-o’ etc) as well as a possible derivation from one of a few similar sounding aboriginal words.

Hard track

Veer left: From ‘The Jungo’, the walk follows the ‘Callicoma Walk’ arrow along the management trail which climbs steeply and soon comes to the intersection (with the management trail going up the hill to the left and the red Great North Walk marker pointing straight ahead).Turn left: From the intersection, the walk follows the management trail up the hill, climbing steeply at times, before turning right at the intersection at the old pony club grounds (marked with a ‘Berowra Valley Regional Park’ sign). The walk follows the management trail, keeping the cleared grounds to the left, then passes around a gate, and bends to the right in the car park and follows the ‘Stringybark Ridge’ management trail, arriving an intersection immediately after passing around a gate (with a private property access coming in from the left).

Hard track

Veer left: From the intesection, whilst looking away from the locked gate, the walk follows an initially faint bush track, off to the left (east) (avoiding the entry to the ‘Private Property’ also behind to the left) and comes to the intersection of Laurence St and Redgum Ave.

(4.24km) Int of Laurence St and Redgum Ave → End of Redgum Ave west

100 m

2 mins

0m

-5m

Moderate track

Turn left: From the intersection, the walk follows Redgum Ave, keeping the houses to the right, for a short distance, until reaching the end of this section of Redgum Ave.

(4.34km) End of Redgum Ave west → Int of Redgum Ave and Thorn St

140 m

3 mins

23m

0m

Moderate track

Continue straight: From the end of the asphalt, the walk follows a narrow bush track down toward the creek. After crossing the small creek, the walk emerges into a grassy clearing and continues up the hill between the houses, arriving at the intesection of Redgum Ave and Thorn St.

(4.48km) Int of Redgum Ave and Thorn St → End of Bellamy St

770 m

14 mins

3m

-34m

Moderate track

Turn right: From the intersection, the walk follows Thorn St, soon passing the intersection with Jackson Cr. At the ‘T’ intersection of Thorn St and Bellamy St, the walk turns left and continues to the end of Bellamy St .

[51] (on the left) then over the next 50m this walk continues downhill past the ‘Halls Camp’ information sign[52], the ‘Natures Filter’[53] to come to an intersection with a dirt track (the Great North Walk) marked with an arrow pointing back up to ‘Bellamy Street’[54].

(5.34km) Int of Bike Trail and Morgan Rd tracks → Morgan Rd

230 m

4 mins

7m

-3m

Moderate track

Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Sydney Cove’ sign[55] along the narrow track away from the wide concrete trail. The track leads behind the house (on your right) following along the rocky side of Zig Zag Creek[56]. After the third house, in a small clearing, the track turns right[57], heading up between the houses[58] a short distance to come to the top of the turning circle[59] at the end of Morgan Road, Thornleigh.

(5.56km) Morgan Rd → Thornleigh Train Station

990 m

18 mins

47m

-7m

Easy track

Turn left: From the end of Morgan Street, this walk heads up along the road[60] to left into ‘Tillock Street’[61]. This street soon bends right[62] to become ‘Eddy Street’[63] following the footpath[64] and GNW arrows[65] to the top of the hill where there is a set of traffic lights[66]. The walk cross ‘The Esplanade’ at the lights[67] to then turn right walking past the car park[68], and through a small park[69] to find a large ‘Great North Walk’ sign[70] at the (north bound) entrance to Thornleigh train station[71].

Maps for the Stringybark Ridge and Zig Zag Creek loop from Thornleigh Station walk

You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.

Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Stringybark Ridge and Zig Zag Creek loop from Thornleigh Station

Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001

Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.

Length

6.6 km

Time

2 hrs 30 mins

.

Grade 4/6

Hard track

AS 2156.1

Gradient

Very steep (4/6)

Quality of track

Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6)

Signs

Minimal directional signs (4/6)

Experience Required

Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6)

Weather

Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6)

Infrastructure

Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6)

Some more details of this walks Grading

Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk

Gradient

2.8km of this walk is flat with no steps and another 1.6km has short steep hills. Whilst another 1.2km is very steep and the remaining 910m has gentle hills with occasional steps.

Quality of track

4.7km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 1.1km follows a smooth and hardened path. The remaining (750m) follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles.

Signs

2.6km of this walk is clearly signposted and another 2.5km has directional signs at most intersection. The remaining (1.4km) has minimal directional signs.

Experience Required

Around 4.5km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 2.1km requires some bushwalking experience.

weather

Around 6km of this walk is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation), whilst the remaining 140m is affected by storms that may impact your navigation and safety.

Infrastructure

Around 4.4km of this walk has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced), whilst the remaining 2.2km is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).

Similar walks

A list of walks that share part of the track with the Stringybark Ridge and Zig Zag Creek loop from Thornleigh Station walk.

Fire Danger

http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_fire_danger.php?walkid=nsw-bvrp-srazzclfts
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.

Weather Forest

This walk starts in the Metropolitan weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.
http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_weather_danger.php?walkid=nsw-bvrp-srazzclfts
Forecast snapshot